"A

BOOK," said Samuel Johnson, "should show us either how to enjoy life or how to endure it.". Now the beauty of the biography is that it can do both.

It is natural for us to be always more or less curious about notable men and women. Indeed, in spite of ourselves, we are all to a greater or less degree hero-worshipers still. But to-day our interest in this kind of book grows apace, so that it almost seems as if "Lives and Letters," "Reminiscences, ," "Recollections," and even "Autobiographies" were bidding fair to become. the fashion. Surely 1917 was indeed a "biography year." And among the biographies were books of such caliber as new letters of Lincoln, Edmund Gosse's "Swinburne," Brander Matthews's " These Many Years," John Morley's "Recollections," and the new life of John Keats by Sidney Colvin. This is to mention a random fewand with 1918 still they come.

Is there for this any special reason? I believe there is good reason. For in a time when the daily events are too likely to excite or dishearten us we need some solace and some stimulus for our souls' sake. It is a blessed relief, when the pessimistic imps have us in their clutch, to turn to the records of lives that have been lived through and that can be looked at in perspective. It is no little comfort to discover that there have been men who were able to light little candles of hope for themselves, and there is just the chance that we may be able to warm our own finger-tips at those rays.

Yes, the biography that is merely worth while can boast its fair excuse for being. But as for the one that is " more excellent"-the one such as E. T. Cook's "Ruskin," as Parker's "Edward Rowland Sill," as Paine's "Mark Twain "—that gives us something more than the plain record or simple study of a man; it has the double delight of aesthetic satisfaction and intensest human interest. For the more excellent biography takes rank among the fine arts. It is justly to be compared with the art of portraiture in painting.

Comparisons here are not odious but happily fragrant. And it is significant that the first thing required alike of the painter of a portrait and of the writer of a life should be a knack or special talent for catching the likeness. This is as much a sine qua non for both of these artists as the story-telling faculty is a sine qua non for the anecdotist or for the short-story writer.

Again, of both the painter and the writer we ask one further good thing-we ask that they do their work con diligenza, con studio, con amore. With diligence, yes; with carefulness, surely; and with both enthusiasm and sympathy as well as charity. Hilaire Belloc is said to have once remarked that he had no business trying to write about Marie Antoinette because he had no patience with her type of character. Without sympathy how can an endeavor to portray human nature, whether on canvas or in a book, be other than the foregone conclusion of failure?

Perhaps the monumental example of an exceptionally sympathetic study is Colvin's

Keats." Coming, as the new work does, thirty years after the well-known monograph on the poet, the beauty of it rests not alone in the ripe scholarship evidenced and in the masterly treatment, but also, and

best of all, in the burning, torch-like testimony it gives to the "allure "of that rare genius.

Sympathy may be the very motive power that impels the painting of the portrait or the writing of the book. Enthusiasm for a hero or a recent comrade may be so strong as to enkindle the longing to do him honor, to enshrine his memory in some form that will last. In the case of a writer his desire runs naturally to the form of biography. "There is neither picture, nor image of marble, nor sumptuous sepulcher, can match the durableness of an eloquent biography." So wrote, in the middle of the sixteenth century, one Jacques Amyot.

The following out of the commemorative instinet lends a touching significance to lives or to lives and letters arranged by a man's wife or son or very intimate friend. I think of Mrs. Watts's happy representa-. tion of her painter husband, of the Stevenson and Meredith letters. I am minded, to be sure, of the classic example of the Johnson as done by his faithful Boswell; but, to dwell on tomes less ponderous, there is the life of Macaulay by his nephew Trevelyan; two volumes long, I grant, but with plenty of every-day, human touches such as most of us, I suspect, when we read the essayist in school never dreamed of as possible. There are the "Reminiscences of Saint-Gaudens," edited by his son. There is Edward Everett Hale's life by his son, and A. C. Benson's life of his sister Maggie, and the "Letters of Mark Twain brought out by his fervent admirer, Paine, and giving us that happy flashlight of Kipling's anent our American humorist, to wit: "Cervantes was a relative of his." But to turn back for a moment to the comparison of our two arts of portraiture, the one by pigments, the other by words; true, there is a marked similarity between them, but there is also much dissimilarity. It is true that the painter on canvas has one great advantage. It lies within his power to get an immediate, impressionistic effect. His not to analyze or to reason why. His but to make us see his man as we might have seen him in his lifetime, or, if it is a present-day portrait, as we may chance to see him to-morrow. And here, if the artist is successful, he does make us feel as if we were looking at the flesh-andblood man. We say he has achieved a wonderful likeness, that the painting seems on the point of speaking to us.

But, on the other hand, the painter labors under one very positive disadvantage. He can represent his sitter in but a single mood. No matter how keen he may be to detect and to depict what we call the most characteristic mood, the most dominant expression, this nevertheless constitutes a handicap. It makes for one-sidedness, if not for inadequacy, in his representation. The writer, contrariwise, is free to show his subject in many and in successive moods. And as we all realize, while one of these may be thoroughly characteristic at one period in his life, it may become quite uncharacteristic-possibly, indeed, absolutely funtrue-at a later period. Here the difference between the two arts becomes as great as that between the old art of the tableau and the modern "movie."

More than this, the writer can show behind his central figure many tapestrylike glimpses of that figure's friends and

How Haig Fights
and Feeds His Armies

THE BUSINESS.
OF WAR

By ISAAC F. MARCOSSON
Author of "The Rebirth of Russia," The
War After the War," etc.

16 Illustrations. Cloth, $1.50 net One of the most timely and illumining of the war volumes is this new book of Mr. Marcosson, which is the first to tell the facts that every one wishes to know just at this time. It depicts the complete machinery of war production and supply, and reveals the economic generalship that sustains enormous military operations. Included, also, are the author's distinguished character studies of Sir Douglas Haig, Viscount Northcliffe, and Sir Eric Geddes.

Behind the Purple Curtain
MY EMPRESS

By MME. MARFA MOUCHANOW First Maid in Waiting to Her Former Majesty, the Czarina Alexandra of Russia

With 16 Illustrations. Cloth, $2.50 net Never has "back-stairs gossip" in a royal palace been so delightfully and intimately told as in this remarkable narrative, in which we see a marvelous picture of the most powerful Empress in the world, and yet the most lonely and isolated woman in all the Russias.

Romantic Reality

THE ROMANCE
OF COMMERCE

By H. GORDON SELFRIDGE

Over 100 Illustrations. Cloth, $3.00 net H. Gordon Selfridge, the American business man who introduced the American type of department store into London, has summed up in this volume his experience of busine is in two continents. The book, as its name implies, is a packet of romantic reality. Mr. Selfridge is a merchant with an imagination; he has put his heart into the book and the result is a fascinating record.

OF ALL BOOKSELLERS

JOHN LANE CO., NEW YORK

The Art of Biography (Continued) contemporaries. He can make us acquainted with his man's milieu. Indeed, he must, if he is to interpret his character truly, show it to us in its relation to the historic background. How, for instance, could we get an impression of John Fiske or of John Morley without an impression also of the nineteenth-century America and the nineteenth-century England against which they stand silhouetted?

Fine examples of this interrelation between events and the man are Morley's studies of Voltaire and of Gladstone; and books such as these emphasize a further value in biography, since it is true, as M. Cousin says, that "the great man represents the quintessence of his epoch."

And still again the writer has the chance, denied the painter, of employing narrative. His not the opportunity to give us a picture or a series of pictures merely, but to stir us more deeply and powerfully still by telling his story in such wise that we follow one episode after another to a dramatic climax of acts and consequences.

As for the autobiography, in this we have a peculiarly interesting and intimate phase of the art of portraiture-almost indeed a little genre in itself. At first sight the self-picture seems too egregiously egotistic. What reason, forsooth, have any of us to take ourselves so seriously? Yet who of us would care to give up Rembrandt's masterly-nay, marvelously inspiring-reflections of himself? And there exist autobiographies so captivating-Leigh Hunt's is one of them-that we are full ready to forgive the authors their quota of needed conceit. Besides, no man can ever know another man's inner life as he can his own. Then, too, no matter how well he may know himself, not every one is able or willing to reveal himself with absolute frankness. Whence, as Stevenson puts it, "in this world of imperfections we gladly welcome even partial intimacies."

How I recall the avidity with which we pick out the autobiographic portions-or those alleged as such-in books of fiction! See how keen we are to find allusions to Dickens's own childhood in "David Copperfield," and to little Marian Evans in the story of Maggie Tulliver!

These authors veiled their matter of fact under matter of fiction. Henry James, contrariwise, in these three volumes of his"Notes of a Son and Brother," "A Small Boy and Others," and, lastly, "The Middle Years," frankly admitted the autobiographical purpose.

I find the reminiscent vein becoming to Howells, who had already written "A Boy's Town," "My Literary Passions," "Literary Friends and Acquaintances," before he brought out, a couple of years ago, his "Years of My Youth." SaintGaudens's "Reminiscences," with its delightful blend of Irish wit and Gallic sensitiveness, belongs to another category; and there is still another group of self-portraits that are ostensibly sociologic in their appeal. Mary Antin's belongs to this group, as does Abraham Rihbany's. In "Å Far Journey" the latter gives most engaging glimpses of his boy life in Syria-in the early spring, when a peasant would come to plow the home grounds in primitive fashion, with a yoke over one shoulder and a goad to urge on the oxen; in the days when the silkworms would come out of their cocoons; and in the summer, of grapes and figs."

"time

Both of these, I am afraid, we incline to have a tenderness for because of the grati

Ask for the KNYVETT Book

Captain R. Hugh Knyvett

ANZAC SCOUT

says:

"I am a scout; nature, inclination, and fate put me into that branch of army service. In trying to tell Australia's story I have of necessity enlarged on the work of the scouts."-From Captain Knyvett's remarkable narrative

"OVER THERE" WITH THE AUSTRALIANS

Which tells about the war in Australia, Egypt, Gallipoli and on the Western Front from an angle altogether novel. Here is a story of really thrilling adventure, magnificent courage, and superb daring . . . absolutely true in every detail. It is a book of absorbing interest. . . . Captain Knyvett is a highly educated man, and has much literary ability. His style is finished, and he tells his great story with convincing power."-New York Herald. Illustrated. $1.50 net

THE EARTHQUAKE

By Arthur Train

This great story of America at war has been enthusiastically received. THEODORE ROOSEVELT says:

"I want to congratulate you most heartily on The Earthquake,' and to thank you as an American for having written it."

HERBERT HOOVER says:

"You have written a sane and sensible book, on the most pressing subject before the American people to-day."

SECRETARY REDFIELD says:

The book has been of great service to me personally, and I find myself fully in accord with its spirit and substance."

NEW YORK TRIBUNE says:

First we have Mr. Britling Sees It Through.' Then followed Miss Sinclair's Tree of Heaven' and now The Earthquake,' a worthy third, but by no means least member of an immortal trio. Indeed, Mr. Train's book may be the most impressive and effective of the three.

"If Mr. Train were a Frenchman, he would receive the Cross of the Legion, or perhaps he would be crowned by the Academy. Being a mere American, he must be content to know that he has written a great book which we could wish to be read by every American."

NEW YORK POST says:

"It is a tale of the earnestness and patriotism of the great mass of Americans, and an arraignment of the profiteers who have taken advantage of the needs of the Government, and of those who have catered to them by providing the means for extravagant living; yet so well has he written that Mr. Train does not seem to be preaching."

NEW YORK TIMES says: "A call to service, sensible, fervently patriotic and clear, the best piece of work Mr. Train has ever done." $1.50 net

"Dr. Laughlin brings to the consideration of the transcendent issues of the world war an exceptional degree of authority happily conjoined with a lucid, attractive and convincing manner of expression."— New York Tribune. With 9 charts, $3.50 net

THE PASSING OF THE GREAT Race
By Madison Grant

OR THE RACIAL BASIS OF EUROPEAN HISTORY

New and Revised Edition. In this revised edition those phases of the description of the European races, and the results rising from their crossings, which have special reference to the war and to America are emphasized. With a new introduction by Henry Fairfield Osborn. $2.00 net

A HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

XBURGDOR PREN

GOOD BOOKS

CONTINUOUS diet of daily news, with its tense contradictions and consequent fears and doubts, brings on mental indigestion. The cure lies in good books in the comforting philosophy of writers who have found peace, happiness and wholesome inspiration in close communion with nature and the better moods of man. A catalog of THE ABINGDON PRESS offers such books. Here are a few of the recent ones:

THE PEACEFUL LIFE, A Study in Spiritual Hygiene, By OSCAR KUHNS

Here one may see and understand the beauty and power of the quiet and serene
life, and here, too, one will learn how that life may be attained and maintained.
Enriched with apt quotation and illustration from the best writers, the book
will be a joy to all lovers of good literature and a stimulus to the highest and
best in thinking and living.
234 pages. Cloth. Net, $1.00, postpaid.

12mo.

THE BOOK Of revelation NOT A MYSTERY By DAVID KEppel

A brief, graphic, and deeply interesting interpretation of the Book of Revelation. The author brings to his task both adequate scholarship and thorough sanity. A most wholesome and timely book for all who would understand the relation of the Apocalypse to the present world crisis.

16mo. 76 pages. Cloth. Net, 50 cents, postpaid.

THE CONFESSIONS OF A BROWNING LOVER
By JOHN WALKER POWELL

A fine interpretation of the message of Browning to our time. Believing that Browning is primarily an artist, the author holds that both by intuition and inspiration he is a philosopher and a theologian and that his teachings are of the highest order. Agnosticism and materialism are met and answered. Dr. Powell's chapter on Immortality is unusually helpful.

Crown 8vo. 248 pages. Cloth. Net, $1.00, postpaid.

THE MAYFLOWER PILGRIMS
By EDMUND JAMES CARPENTER

DR. CARPENTER has given a popular and
highly interesting account of early New
England days. True to history, the rugged
and heroic life of the Pilgrims takes new
beauty and power under the author's skilful
handling. In view of the Tercentenary of
the landing of the Pilgrims, this volume is
most timely and will surely help to an un-
derstanding of the spirit and purpose of the
sturdy pioneers to whom the nation owes so
much.
12mo. Illustrated. 256 pages.
Cloth. Net, $1.50, postpaid.

RELIGION AND THE SCHOOL, By EMIL CARL WILM This book demonstrates two important things. First, the necessity for religious education in our public schools, and second, how such instruction may be given without becoming sectarian in its character. The subject is excellently well treated, and the discussion is especially valuable because of the standing of its author in matters philosophical, Professor Wilm being the successor of Professor Borden P. Bowne, at Boston University, and lecturer on Philosophy at Wellesley College. 16mo. 54 pages. Cloth. Net, 35 cents, postpaid.

In Times Like These

we look for guidance. New ideas of the significance of democracy, of the subordination of the will of the individual, of man as the chief end of creation, arise to perplex us. The Divine Guide alone can help us to see clearly through the engulfing fog of evil. The philosopher and scientist Emanuel Swedenborg has comforted and inspired thousands by his book "Divine Love and Wisdom." Endowed for that purpose, this Society offers to send you a copy without cost or obligation other than 5 cents for mailing.

AMERICAN SWEDENBORG PRINTING AND PUBLISHING SOCIETY Room 82, 3 West Twenty-ninth Street, New York

1 May

The Art of Biography (Continued) fying picture they give us of our country as the famed land of opportunity.

In Morley's "Recollections" we find a man who might almost be called the apostle of tolerance, religious, political, and social, yet he has shown a sensitiveness to the beauty of law and order as true as the needle's sensitiveness to the pole, together with the tireless zeal to work for the realization of law and order-in other words, of justice. His own statement of his aspiration is most modest but convincing. It was his desire to be "a comrade in the struggle for thought and the wrestle for truth.

The gracious truth is that by means of the art of biography we are enabled not merely to become acquainted with some particular great and good man who passed this way a year or a thousand years ago; we are enabled not merely to follow his footsteps as he stumbled over cobblestones and climbed successfully over stiles; but we can watch his growth as a human being, we can catch glimpses of the philosophy that sustained his spirit; we can enter into the inheritance of his legacy of personality.

THE NEW BOOKS This department will include descriptive notes, with or without brief comments, about books received by The Outlook. Many of the important books will have more extended and critical treatment later

FICTION

Branded. By Francis Lynde. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. $1.35. Through almost incredible folly a young bank clerk allows himself to be the scapegoat for a defaulting banker. He is convicted, and comes out of prison on parole. Everywhere he goes, even in a Western mining camp under a false name, he is branded with his "crime." The story has sincerity, is full of action, and holds the attention closely.

Flying Teuton (The). By Alice Brown. The Macmillan Company, New York. $1.50. The title story of this collection of tales by an author who has few superiors among American short-story writers is a clever adaptation of the Flying Dutchman " idea to the present situation. It is pointed and it strikes deep. All the tales are well worth reading, but the first is worth rereading.

Man Who Lost Himself (The). By H. de Vere Stacpoole. The John Lane Company, New York. $1.40.

The author throws probabilities to the winds, and the reader is perfectly willing to allow him to do so, because the incidents in themselves are odd and entertaining. The basis of the story is the absolute identity of appearance between an American business man stranded in London and a British nobleman who is about to end his troubles by suicide. His last practical joke is to establish the American in his place. Miss Pim's Camouflage. By Lady Stanley. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. $1.50. This tale of Secret Service work done by a British spinster is exciting if not probable. Miss Pim" camouflages" Hindenburg and the Kaiser in person, and returns triumphantly with marvelous information to London.

On Two Frontiers. By George T. Buffum. Illustrated. The Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Company, Boston. $1.35. These stories may be classified as "fietion founded on fact," and "fact." Most readers will probably prefer those in the second category. A born story-teller never lets his facts obtrude as such, and in these